Building a Dream Retirement, One Room at a Time

Find out how TCDRS Member Betsy Thomas and her husband Ron are building their retirement dream.

TCDRS member Betsy Thomas (second from the right) and her husband Ron (right) outside their Galveston bed-and-breakfast, which they remodeled themselves.

By Laura Mellett

Betsy Thomas and her husband Ron were heading home to Amarillo from a weekend stay at a bed-and-breakfast in Galveston when she dreamed up the idea of owning one in retirement as a way to supplement their retirement income.

At 55, the Galveston County grants administrator is now on the cusp of making that dream a reality. “I was saying that I would like to own a business, and he was talking about wanting to move back to the water. He said, ‘Why wait?’”

The couple sold their house and purchased a 4,100-square-foot historic Victorian home divided into four apartments. After moving into one unit, they began paying off the mortgage while generating income from renting out the other units to medical students from the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch campus.

With each paycheck, they made repairs and upgrades, and purchased antique furnishings, meticulously curating the ambiance they envisioned. As the students moved out, the couple opened the rooms for bed-and-breakfast guests.

 
Left: Rooms in Besty and Ron’s bed-and-breakfast. Right: As meticulous curators and decorators, Betsy and Ron were right at home at the Galveston Steampunk Festival.

“Sometimes dreams seem so out of reach,” Betsy said. “You’ve just got to start building them, one paycheck at a time.”

Betsy’s office is near the business, which allows her to provide a room service-style breakfast for her guests before work and pick up the tray during her lunch hour. As they near completion of their third and final suite, Betsy wants others to know that they, too, can achieve their retirement goals.

“I am not waiting until I am 60 or 66,” she said. “People who know me know this is exactly what I have always wanted. I am living my dream now, and I absolutely love it.” 

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